Desert Hourglass
by BanderCoeurl
Summary: A closer look at Penelo's state of mind before the start of their journey. Takes place very early in the game, so minimal spoilers. Not exactly a Vaan/Penelo pairing piece, but you can take from it what you will. There are hints of possible Reks/Penelo.


**Authors Comment**- This is my first entry to in ages! I hope you guys enjoy it. It's really a one shot, but I may add on to it in other stories later. I enjoy the dynamic between Penelo and Vaan, and how you could really go any way you wanted with it. But I just never saw romance between them, even though it may have later developed in canon. Their devotion to each other is a great aspect to work with. The 'Dread Pirate Sugar Thighs' joke belongs to another fic writer, but I can't for the life of me remember who! If anyone knows, please let me know so I can give them credit. )

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Final Fantasy XII or any of it's characters. ( too bad.)

Licking her lips and fighting the howling winds blowing directly in her face, Penelo traipsed the shifting dunes of the Westersand. A moment later, she rather regretted it, the gritty sand from her lips now in her mouth, prompting her to spit uselessly and growl in frustration. "_**Vaan!!**_ Hurry _UP_!" She muttered obscenities as she reached a ridge she could hide behind. Vaan came slowly into view, carrying their latest mark over his shoulder, another cactoid of all things. (They were becoming far more trouble than they were worth, she'd found, as she'd extracted the needles from Vaan's rear. Sure, the needles were worth something at market, but the whining she'd listened to from her partner, as well as the healing materials they always needed subsequently, negated any gil they'd make.) She slid down the side of the rock face then, into a precarious sitting position, waiting for Vaan to do the same. "Let's try to wait out the storm… After your little performance back there, we could both use some rest."

Vaan eyed her in irritation. "Hey, we got the mark, didn't we?? Besides-" She cut him off at this, voice raising to overpower his- "I _told_ you not to get too close to it when it started to sway… you know those things throw needles! You're such a bother sometimes…You _never_ listen." The conversation took on the annoyance of an older sister berating a brother, which caused Vaan to bristle. They were the same age, after all, and while as close to anything he'd ever had, Penelo was NOT his sister… and most definitely NOT his keeper, much as she liked to think so. He wouldn't say this, however…They were all each other had left in the world. Penelo's expression softened as Vaan winced into a sitting position. "What are you going to do if something happens, and I'm not there to get you out of it?" She examined her short dirty fingernails, glancing over to his larger, bloodstained hands. "What if something _happens_ to you? I… I don't know what I'd _do_… if you weren't there…" Her face darkened, the usually bright expression gone. She knew she worried too much… but it was hard not to when one lost as much as they had. When her three elder brothers and parents had left her so easily. When Reks had looked her straight in the eye the same way Vaan did, and said "I'll come back to you, I _promise_." before going to war…Only to keep his promise, but as a shadow of himself… broken and betrayed… until he succumbed to his injuries. She could see Reks in Vaan, and couldn't bare to watch him so foolishly rush off to do the same. She just couldn't _bare it_. She was too young to understand the world before… when she lost so much… but these two years working to feed herself… to clothe them, to make sure the younger orphans managed to find places to sleep and food to eat.. The unspoken bond she and Vaan had formed as the oldest of the orphans. Besides that… the only good thing that had come of all their struggling was the realization that one must fight for what and who is important to them. You can't sit back and allow fate to tear them away. She had absolutely no intention of ever allowing that again, even if it meant trailing Vaan to the ends of Ivalice and beyond as a sky pirate.

She shifted to sit on her knees, moving toward him, and grasping his injured hand in hers. She noted the slight difference in skin tone… hers being lighter tan than his… a sign he'd been out in the sands more often lately. Her smooth texture to his rough brawny muscle. "Here… Let me bandage you up… I brought some potions just in case." Her smaller, equally calloused fingers moved over his, as adept at this dance as the ones she did in town for spare gil. He seemed to be staring down at their joint hands, silent for once. Finally, he sighed. "Pen… I'll try to be more careful, okay? I _promise_. So don't worry, alright?" She glanced up from her work for just a moment, those words echoing in her mind, in a similar voice. As she finished, she stood… brushing the sand from her knees and stretching. "Just… take me with you, okay?" He looked confused and turned his head to the side inquiringly. "If you… if you ever do leave Rabanastre… don't… leave _me…_I want to go too…" He stared blankly before grinning in that wildly boyish way that never meant anything good. "_Ooh_, so prim little Pen is going to become a sky pirate too? _Hah_! What are they going to call you, the '_dread pirate sugar thighs' _?" Her face reddened, a serious moment ruined by Vaan's idiocy… as usual. (and she absolutely _hated_ that nickname. Too many sotted imperial soldiers making commentary on her choice of clothes… it'd _stuck_ because of Vaan's inability to let it die.) "Oh!? Well _you're _one totalk!! The only thing to which you're a '_dread_'-anything are the rats in the sewers!" She rushed forward now, grabbing Vaan's gil pouch from his belt and taking off in the direction of the city. "You owe me lunch!! And some more potions! And a better sword! If I'm to be a dread pirate, I need to stock up!" She stuck out her tongue and ran full tilt, grinning as she saw the boy stumble over himself , tripping in the sand as he attempted to regain his balance to follow. Penelo with his gil pouch was a frightening prospect indeed.

She thought that maybe… just _maybe… _if she worked hard and was fast enough… he might have struggle to keep up with_ her _one day.


End file.
